Brennan to Succeed England as ILM President

Chrissie England will transition out of her role as president of Industrial Light & Magic, with Lynwen Brennan, exec in charge of production, tapped as her successor. Beginning Feb. 1, 2010, Brennan will become president and GM of ILM, which is enjoying a busy summer with STAR TREK, TERMINATOR SALVATION, TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN and HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE.

England, who has been with ILM and Lucasfilm for more than 30 years, will assume a part-time advisory role in focusing on marketing, general business and production strategies. The move to step down was instigated by England in an effort to spend more time with her family.

England and Micheline Chau, president and COO of Lucasfilm, have been working on a transition and succession plan for the last two years with the full support of both George Lucas and the board of directors.

To take on some of Brennan's current responsibilities Gretchen Libby and Janet Lewin have been promoted to exec in charge of marketing and global production and exec in charge of production operations, respectively.

"After over three decades I have come to think of Lucasfilm and Industrial Light & Magic as my second family," England said. "That said, at this juncture in my career I need to rebalance my priorities so that I can devote more attention to my family at home. As succession plans go, this is really an ideal scenario. I look forward to continuing to work with Lynwen both as she transitions into the role of president and general manager, and as I move into my advisory role."

"Lynwen is a proven leader at ILM and I am very excited to have her take over the reins as Chrissie transitions into an advisory role," added Chau. "I am confident that Lynwen's expertise, coupled with this strong management team, will insure that ILM is set up for continued success for many years to come. I also want to take a moment to thank Chrissie for all that she has done for the company to date. Under her leadership, ILM has innovated at the highest levels -- producing groundbreaking and award-winning imagery."

"I'm honored that Mich and the company have entrusted me with the responsibility of this position," added Brennan. "As Chrissie's successor, I have large shoes to fill, but having her at my side during this transition provides an advantage that cannot be understated. ILM has a rich legacy of innovation, artistry and award winning work and I am proud to help guide the company as we continue to build upon this tradition."

Brennan has been with ILM since 1999 when she joined as a technical area lead for the Computer Graphics department. In July of 2006 she was promoted to her current position. She currently oversees all of the artistic and production talent at ILM and is responsible for ensuring that productions are efficiently staffed for on-time, on-budget delivery.She also plays a driving role in overall portfolio management within the studio.

Prior to Lucasfilm, Brennan had 10 years of experience in visual effects software development. She began her career as an original member of Parallax Software Ltd. There she held a variety of roles, from support to sales and marketing, as the company was built up from the five original members to more than 50 people plus a world-wide sales division. In 2005, Parallax was sold to Avid Technology and Brennan was a key member of that transition team. She spent two years with Avid as a marketing manager before transitioning to Alias Wavefront as a product manager focusing on strategic business development and product management.